The commission also suggested that the government publish the cabinet decisions on its official website.
Observing that the RTI Act is an effective device for making governance transparent, Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Saturday criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement favouring a "critical look" at the law and said his party was opposed to any such move. Advani said that only some time back, the government had showered praise on the RTI Act, saying it had brought transparency.
Setting a new bench mark in transparency in politics, the Central Information Commission has held that political parties are answerable under the Right to Information Act.
RTI crusader Arvind Kejriwal, a key figure in Anna Hazare's campaign against corruption, on Tuesday accused the government of keeping the Central Bureau of Investigation out of the Right to Information Act's ambit so that it can arm-twist its political opponents. "The RTI Act clearly says that only security and intelligence related agencies can be taken out of RTI Act. CBI is neither a security agency nor an intelligence agency," he said.
Commission says that though Reliance Infra is a private company, it provides 'essential service' and hence comes within the ambit of the RTI Act.
The ECI data covers 20,421 bonds worth Rs 12,769 crore. The ADR data, however, collated information on 27,811 bonds worth Rs 16,492 crore. The gap is nearly Rs 4,000 crore and involves over 7,000 bonds.
Every passenger gets 55 per cent concession on train journeys, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said regarding demands to restore pre-Covid fare concessions for senior citizens and media persons.
The Supreme Court had observed that issues of national economic interest; disclosure of information regarding currency or exchange rates/interest rates/ taxes; regulation or supervision of banking, insurance and other financial institutions; proposals for expenditure or borrowing, and foreign investments, could all, in some cases, harm the national economy, especially if released prematurely.
Stay orders keep law out of citizen access even years after CIC rulings on opening market institutions to scrutiny
A senior police official, however, said Monday the charges against the 85-year-old in the Koregaon-Bhima violence case have not been dropped.
Air India had stopped the practice of issuing tickets on credit to government agencies for the travel of their officials in December last year because of accruing pending bills.
The data, which was shared by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in response to an RTI query from PTI, also stated that 686 children living in child care institutions (CCIs) have been infected with COVID-19 so far this year.
The Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government, like its United Progressive Alliance predecessor, seems to be failing on suo motu disclosures under the Right to Information Act.
At a time when Sushma Swaraj is under fierce opposition attack for "helping" Lalit Modi obtain United Kingdom travel documents, her external affairs ministry has refused to provide any information about the passport issue involving the scandal-tainted former Indian Premier League boss.
The government has ruled out amending the RTI Act to give immunity to political parties from providing information after the recent CIC's landmark order brought them under the ambit of the transparency law.
The BJP is hopeful that the issue will come in handy in its efforts to gain political traction in the Dravidian territory during the Lok Sabha polls, more so as it involves neighbouring Sri Lanka whose treatment of its own Tamilian citizens and Tamil Nadu fishermen has long been a charged political issue in the state.
"Every Indian deserves to know the truth and the BJP wants to hide the truth. The BJP believes the truth must be hidden from the people and they must not question people in power. The changes proposed to the RTI will make it a useless Act," the Congress president said on Twitter.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for the petitioners in the court, said at least 30 shell companies purchased electoral bonds worth over Rs 143 crore.
'Since the last ten days our own people were spreading canards and propaganada against me and my family.' 'I was upset by this behaviour and I decided that I should not contest this Lok Sabha election.'
'The prime minister has taken pre-emptive action by not appointing a Chief Information Commissioner at all to render it dysfunctional.'
'The bureaucracy is also hardening its stand and in most cases has realised that the commissioners are not really committed to transparency,' says former Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi.
The report said Sasikala was allowed to wear her personal clothes and cook. A pressure cooker and spices were found in her prison cell.
Taking a cue from the prevailing public mood against the political class, the Congress leadership -- Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi -- are said to have clinched the argument in favour of deferring the amendment to the Right to Information Act which seeks to keep political parties out of the ambit of the transparency law.
Rulers in New Delhi and their political aides in sensitive states like Tamil Nadu have to be doubly careful not to provoke a situation whose consequences may be much more than visible now to the naked eye, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Political parties should not be brought under the ambit of the Right to Information Act by terming them 'public authorities', as this would not only hamper their smooth working but help political rivals to file pleas with malicious intention to seek information, the government told the Supreme Court on Monday.
The National Election Watch has appealed to all the Members of Parliament from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha not to support a proposed amendment to the Right To Information Act.
No decision has been taken yet by the government on giving immunity to political parties from providing information under the Right to Information Act as the six-week deadline by the Central Information Commission ends on Monday.
Against the backdrop of allegations of spot-fixing during IPL matches, Union Minister Ajay Maken said the Board Of Control For Cricket In India - the national governing body for cricket in India - should come under the ambit of the RTI Act.
An FIR has been registered against three persons including a block development officer after Amarnath Pandey, 55, an RTI activist and homoeopathy doctor, was fired at yesterday with a country made pistol, they said, adding he was admitted to a hospital.
The former information commissioner, who is known for his pro-transparency orders in several high-profile cases, said the proposed changes "seriously undermine" the autonomy of information commissions.
Board of Control for Cricket in India's new president Shashank Manohar on Sunday says the Board does not fall under the purview of the Right to Information Act (RTI).
Data from the Central Information Commission, the apex body that hears complaints regarding denial of information under RTI, shows that corporate houses are increasingly using RTI to extract information from public authorities.
Major political parties on Thursday vehemently opposed any move to bring them under the ambit of the Right to Information Act saying that facilities and subsidised buildings given for their offices do not constitute funding from the government.
Annamalai has faced criticism for the breakup between the AIADMK and the BJP, but BJP leaders say 'he attracts youth, who needs change'.
In April 2016, the then CIC M Sridhar Acharyulu had directed the Delhi University and the Gujarat University to provide information to Kejriwal on the degrees that Modi received.
The new rules have given discretion to government to decide on allowances or service conditions not specifically covered by the 2019 rules which would be 'binding'.
About 82 per cent of the total income from unknown sources declared by national political parties in 2022-23 came from electoral bonds, according to a poll rights body.
Tearing into the claims of the United Progressive Alliance about its flagship employment generation programme MNREGA, BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Tuesday alleged it had only "filled the pockets of Congress" and sought to debunk the much-touted RTI.
The cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav decided to keep the Lokayukta out of the purview of the RTI Act, a senior official said.
With the Central Information Commission holding that political parties are answerable to citizens under the Right to Information, Union Minister Salman Khurshid said on Tuesday it is important to keep a practical control of RTI objectives as they cannot be allowed to "run riot".
The records with a parliamentary committee can be provided to an RTI applicant once the report is tabled on the floor of the House, the CIC held on New Delhi, but exempted cases where documents are declared confidential.
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